US Patent 11474409 Optical modulator and optical modulation method

An optical modulator, that includes a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and three or more segments, generates an optical signal based on three or more electric signals transmitted in parallel. The three or more segments are provided in series along an optical path of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer and respectively shift a phase of light propagating through the optical path based on the three or more electric signals. A length of at least one of the three or more segments is different from lengths of the other segments. Optical path lengths from input ends of respective segments to input ends of corresponding next segments are the sae.